


Common Treat of the Commons

by Ferairia123



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn shapeshifting, Citadel hallways, Curious Luna, Day Off, Eating in training room, F/M, Gen, Gentiana talk, Gladio being insufferable, Lifetime supply of Pocky, Lunch time shenanigans, Mentions of Monica's cats, Mentions of sylleblossoms garden, Pit Stops, Pocky games, Pre-Brotherhood, Pre-Kingsglaive, Pre-Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Strong Language, Tenebrae under Imperial rule, Trading pocky flavours, big bro gladio, brother-sister bonding, brotherly concerns, chapter 12 spoilers, doubts on Tenebraen architecture, highschool, mentions of Pretz, minor OC appearances, no beta we die like men, potential HighSpecs, potentially nose related injury, pre Prompto/Cindy, self indulgent, sisterly concerns, suitors, tags to be updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-02-03 13:39:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12749421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferairia123/pseuds/Ferairia123
Summary: A series of Pocky related events/shenanigans with the casts of FF XV . It'll be mostly timeline canon, ranging from pre-Brotherhood to post game. Mostly emphasis on how would they find  and enjoy it.Chap 1 : NoctChap 2 : GladioChap 3 : IgnisChap 4 : Noct & Prompto shenanigansChap 5 : IrisChap 6 : CindyChap 7 : AraneaChap 8 : Monica & ArdynChap 9 : Pre - Kingsglaive editionChap 10 : Lunafreya





	1. Pocky game?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set during their Highschool days and the Pocky Game was just introduced. Cue a Pocky Game lesson to a clueless Prince of Lucis.

The bell rang. It was finally lunch and Noctis felt the strength of holding on through class finally drain and slumped over his desk. There were a few times he was caught sleeping through class and Ignis wasn’t happy about that. He made sure Noctis knew that and as a result, it was veggies and sharp glares even more sharp than his dagger and aim.

Just as he was succumbing to the dark, he felt more than heard him come. The energetic bouncing and the greetings to his classmates made him groan.

“Hey, Noct.” He whispered harshly. “You awake?!” He asked as he took the seat of the desk in front of him and faced it toward Noctis.

Noct huffed. “I could hear ya coming from a mile away.” He said tiredly before finally opening his eyes to face the bundle of energy that had an excited look on his face. This made him sit up. This might just be interesting.

 “Got something?” He asked, interested. Noctis thought of the new videogames that might have been out by now but he hasn’t got the chance to go through. Then his mind went to some of the more difficult levels of King Knight. He even thought Prompto might know some juicy gossip of his retainers but that’s too high for him. That one time Gladio met him at the arcade and Prompto recognizes as the guy that likes to hang around patisseries and cake cafés supposedly. But they eventually found out, it was for his sister.

Being the dramatist that he is, he posed one hand over the object hidden his coat, getting ready for a big reveal. “Have you ever heard of…” He trailed with a gleeful smile. “Pocky!” He took it out and brandished a box of Pocky at him.

Seeing that, his expression fell. “Prompto..” He regarded exasperatedly as the other guy froze. “That’s it?”

He spluttered as he recovered. “Wait, wait! How bout the game? Do you know about the Pocky game?” He asked, enthusiasm dimmed but not extinguished.

At that Noctis raised a confused eyebrow. “Game? As in there’s a promotional game or something?” He queried.

“No, not that!” Prompto corrected him, looking pretty proud of himself. “The party game!” He added, already opening the box of chocolate dipped biscuits. Ripping the package inside, he gave an approving nod as the chocolate dipped biscuit was brought out in perfect form. “Phew, I thought it was melted already.” He said in relief.

“Anyway, the games like this.” He began to explain. “You take one end of the stick into your mouth like this." He demonstrated for a second before taking it back out." And have someone else do the same at the other end. Then you eat it as much as you can until someone backs off." He finished happily. "You can, like...accidentally kiss someone with this." He added with a wink, voice lowered.

 

Noctis looked unimpressed at the new information. "That's it?" He said again. He's more interested with his sleep now.

 

"Aw, come on. It's fun!" Prompto whined. "Don't you wanna try it?"

 

"Hey, Prompto!" Someone else called from across the room. With bleached hair, side cuts and the level of disheveled worse than Prompto, he made Noctis tense. The guys squinted as he zoomed towards him. Behind him, one of his classmates followed, curious at what her friend was interested in. The girl gave the Prince an acknowledging nod before turning her attention to Prompto and Sol. In comparison to Sol, she was slightly shorter.

 

"Oh hey, Sol." Prompto greeted with a smile on his face. "Meeting up with Mab, I see." He said as he waved at the quiet girl behind him. She waved back but her eyes roamed, trying to find something. 

 

"Yeah, got some problems from home but nooo biggy. Got it settled now." He quickly replied, his level of energy and positivity matching Prompto's enthusiasm. "Say, is that pocky?" He asked with a wide, expectant smile.

 

The black haired girl shot them both a disappointed look and lightly punched Sol's forearm.

 

"Hey, can't blame a guy for asking when his twin is such a stick in the Mab about sugar." Sol responded with mock hurt and stressing on the word Mab.

 

That made the girl shot an even sharper look of ire, almost reminding Noctis of Ignis. 

 

"For your information, if you have a sugar crash when we get back home, I'll be alone doing the chores alone, again." She said, voice crisp and sharp but her tone was controlled and cool. It reminded him of Ignis too much that he snorted.

 

Mab jumped when the Prince did that. Once she realised who it was, she bowed her head again. "Apologies, Your Highness." She quickly apologized, a bit too fast with a blush spreading on her cheeks.

 

"No, no, it's fine." Noctis placated. "I can relate with skipping chores." He lied with a chuckle.

 

Sol laughed as Prompto sighed. "Whatever, Sol. Why you're here?" Prompto asked as Mab inched away, using her twin brother as a shield from the prince.

 

"Oh yeah. Any plans for a pocky game?" He asked, eyebrows wiggling suggestively. Mab lightly punched him on the forearm again but otherwise did nothing else except hide from the prince.

 

"Just teaching Sleeping Beauty here how." Prompto said as he bit into the one he's been using as a demo and offered the box between the three of them but was refused.

 

Sol looked at the Prince as if he just saw him. "You don't know the game?" He said out loud.

 

"Can't blame him. He doesn't go out that often." Prompto supplied, finishing the last of his Pocky stick. Noctis grimaced. As much as he hated to admit it, he really doesn't go out that much.

 

"Then, lucky for you, me and Mab had a bet." Sol said with a strut as Mab audilbly sighed behind him.

 

Prompto raised his eyebrows in surprised. "Oh, so that's why you asked." Prompto returned amicably, handing out the box towards Sol, this time.

 

"Yep, and the winner gets to sit out chore duty for the day." He said proudly, giving his twin a smug smile.

 

"Hmmph, you're a thousand years too young to beat me at this game." Mab boasted almost inaudibly but the smirk on her face made Noctis's blood run cold.

 

"I'll be the referee!." Prompto declared happily as Sol took one out the pack.

 

"Ok." Mab agreed as she stood by Prompto's side so he can see both of them and providing Noctis with a view as well.

 

Sol took one end and, with a bit fidgeting due to the height difference, made it stable enough to be held out between them.

 

"Ok, go." Prompto declared.

 

What happens next was so fast, they barely saw what happened. Even Sol, stood surprised.

 

Mab, instead of eating it bit by bit, let her height difference angle most of the Pocky stick into her mouth and chomped off a majority of it.

  
"Are we done?" She said as she finished the Pocky, looking up to them with ease. 

  
"Hey! That's cheating." Sol said, recovering from his surprise, the remaining stick falling. "That's cheating, right?" He referred to Prompto.

  
"Before you start, there were no rules involved as long as a majority of the Pocky is eaten." Mab reasoned crisply, her arms were folded in front of her as she leveled her eyes on the two of them calmly.

  
The twin kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish."But...but." Prompto still had his jaw dropped.

  
Mab gave a satisfied smile at his reaction. "Thank you very much, gentlemen and Your Highness." She said with a curt bow of her head to all of them and dragged her twin by his sleeve.

  
Sol looked to them for help but all he had was a mildly amused Prince and a blonde in deep thought.

  
"That was interesting." Noctis noted, an amused smile spreading on his face as the blonde looked utterly confused.

  
"Uh....yeah..." He replied before shaking his head. "Ok..." he began as he stared at the pocky box.

  
"I'm not playing this game ever. You know that right?" Noctis commented as he took one stick from the box.

  
Prompto just shrugged. "Those Brevis twins are intense." He reasoned. "I'm sure I can convince ya to play it at least once."

  
It finally made sense why Mab acted the way she did despite how casual his brother was. Their father was probably be the minister of Maritime Affairs, Lord Via Brevis. 

  
"Good luck." Noctis wished him as both of them finished the box of Pocky. Soon, they were talking about arcade games until the end of lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone picked up the name thing, it was not intentional...My hand slipped and suddenly that name popped up.


	2. You Barbarian!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio's take on how to eat pocky. Safe to say, not everyone's happy and it's pretty barbaric. Plus, sugar rush before a sparring session will only end with exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline for this is Noctis is still in school as per the Brotherhood anime. It should be roughly after the episode where Ignis had a fall out with him.
> 
> This time is Gladio's spotlight with Pocky. I don't know how's is it in your places but we get mega Pocky sales at our train stations here. There's an assortment of flavours but my favourite is still the classic and the strawberry flavoured ones.

As per Gladio's request, Noctis went practice more often now. But only under the condition that Prompto could tag along. They were late because there was a sale for Pocky on the subway.

By the time they arrived there, bags filled to the brim with the treat, Gladio was already waiting in full gear, his training sword beside him on the bench.

He grimaced at them as Noctis excused himself to get into his gear.

Prompto was left alone with the other man and Noctis's bag. He looked anywhere but Gladio, afraid of any repercussions for being late.

Gladio, who was already bored to begin with, got curious with the suspiciously overstuffed school bags.

"Hey...Prompto?" He asked, lagging as he tried to remember his name.

That earned a jump and a loud gulp from the other man. He looked like a spooked chocobo as he nodded, getting pale.

Gladio huffed at that. "I ain't gonna bite ya." He told him gruffly. "Come sit. Don't ya get tired?" He said as he removed the training sword and pats the empty space.

"N-no. I'm fine, thanks. Got lots of stamina. Can definitely stand here for hours." Prompto blurted in hurried panic, holding his hands up to reject the offer.

Gladio guffawed at that. "Just come sit here." He offered again. "Though, you might wanna keep it down about the standing part. People here really likes to pick on 'em."

Still terrified, Prompto followed through, placing the bags gently down to the ground.

Gladio could feel the fear leaving of off him like a wave. He sighed at that. "Look, I wanna ask where were you guys earlier. I won't beat ya up or anything." He said, coaxing him.

Prompto still looked stiff as he contemplated. "Noct's not gonna get into trouble either... right?" He asked cautiously.

Gladio rolled his eyes at that. "Even if he is, it won't be today, blondie." He said and gently nudged the other guy with his elbow. "Come on, spill."

Prompto still looked doubtful. As if against his better judgement, he opened his bag to reveal the assortment of Pocky treat boxes.

Gladio raised his eyebrows at that. "Whoa, that's a lot." He said, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, it was on sale." He chirped happily. "Definitely, gonna study easier tonight with this babies." As an afterthought, he offered the opened bag to Gladio.

"Want one?" He offered kindly.

Gladio cracked a grin at that. "Sure." He answered as he rummaged the bag. "Aha!" He said triumphantly as he extracted the coffee flavoured Pocky.

"Fine choice." Prompto said as he chuckled.

Suddenly, he was taking off his arm guards, eager to eat the treat.

Prompto gasped scandalously. "Can we eat here?" He asked, partly looking for permission to open a box of his own.

"As long as we clean it up afterwards, we're safe." He told before gesturing to the bag. "Go ahead, if ya want one."

Prompto lets out an excited smile before rummaging through the back to find his flavour. By the time he found his box, he watched in morbid awe as Gladio took the whole stack and chomped a large portion of it gracelessly.

Noticing the other man was staring, he swallowed before answering. "Something on my face?" He asked.

Prompto began with a strangled sound before shaking his head to get a grip on himself. "It's just that..." He tried to articulate, his expression scrounging as he did. "Never thought there'd be a way to eat Pocky so...savagely."

Gladio chuckled at that as Prompto laughed along. "My sis called me a 'barbarian' when I ate it like this." He held up the remaining stack of Pocky.

"Guys, you're eating in here?" Noctis came, all suit up in safety gear with a frown on his face. "We're gonna get screwed if your dad finds out."

"No evidence, no problem." He said lightly as he crumpled the wrapper and box into a ball with one hand and stuff it in Prompto's opened bag.

"Hey!" Prompto squawked indignantly but did nothing more than shove the trash in his coat pocket instead.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Noctis said, disgruntled.

In response to that, Gladio chomped the rest of them in one bite and proceeded to wear his arm guards.

The look of disgust and awe that passed between the other was hard to hide.

"Dude..." Prompto said in a mixture of awe and disgust.

"Ugh, Gladio, don't... do that ever again." Noctis said in disgust.

Gladio scoffed. "Wuss."

Getting his training sword, both he and Noctis proceeded to spar.

Unfortunately, due to the extra pick me up, Gladio was a lot more energetic when he sparred, resulting with the Prince barely making out of the changing room for a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't eat it like Gladio.


	3. That's not how you eat it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto wandered down through the wrong hallway and ended up stumbling a very familiar yet busy Ignis. In Ignis's efforts to keep Prompto out of trouble and causing them, he'll have to accompany Ignis until he was done with the urgent report he just received. At the office, the fidgety Prompto opened a box of Pocky and Ignis discovers a treat that he'll likely to enjoy more given chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Noctis is still in school in this. Prompto was trying to find the library Noctis was hiding in but got lost in the citadel. Just so happens Ignis found the lost boy and immediately whisked him away to a no trouble zone. Ignis was on his way back after getting the data he needed en route to his office. 
> 
> By the way, I did this in a rush. It might be cringey.

Prompto was getting nervous. The passing citadel people nodded in acknowledgement each time he passed them but some spared him some confused looks. The last thing he wanted was getting arrested for trespassing or looking suspicious or being accused a spy. It was just his luck that his phone battery ran out. He should have known better than to believe Noctis when he said it's not that far away. This is _the_ Citadel. It's not like the hallways in school or even his humble house. Maybe to Noctis, it's just a stroll but for him it was like a maze. Thankfully, the restrooms were labelled. Small mercies.

Prompto had passed this set of staircase before. He wondered whether he should go up or down from where he was or just find his way back to the entrance and go back home. He'll apologize to Noctis once his phone has charged. 

"Prompto!" Called a familiar voice but he couldn't quite remembered where he heard it. Cautiously, he searched out the source to find a strict looking brunet striding right up to him, occasionally nodding to the other people passing him.

Not sure if he was calling out to the right person, Prompto pointed at himself, looking confused.

The brunet nodded at him again and holding up his free hand to tell him to wait.

Once there, he lets out a breath of relief. "Are you lost?" He asked with a benign smile.

Prompto nodded but the confused look was still on his face.

At that, the brunet squinted at the boy before realizing what's going on. "Pardon me, I believe we've never been introduced before." He said apologetically before holding out his hand. "I'm Ignis Scientia."

"Oh, Iggy!" The blonde lit up at his name as shook his hand enthusiastically from relief, the other man barely managed to register anything else as he did. "Man, you wouldn't believe how glad I am to see you." He continued. "Noct said to meet him up at-"

He was halted by a sharp look by the advisor. "We should continue this somewhere more private." The advisor said, slightly above a whisper, eyes warily shifting.

The panic stricken boy stood stiffly as he nodded. Feeling pity for him, Ignis allows himself another smile, hoping to ease his discomfort. "Please follow me to my chambers. We can contact the prince there."

The blonde replied back with a bright smile. The two silently pass the hallways to his office. Once the door closed, Prompto let's out a sigh of relief. "Man, that was intense." He commented as he took in the small office. The first thing he noticed was the smell of coffee. Two shelves of neatly arranged books, a large workstation which had neatly placed stacks of paper except for the one closest to the computer and his chair, probably work stuff. The was a lamp and a display of daggers and lances with the world map not too far from it. Prompto stood transfixed at the world. In comparison, Insomnia was only the tip of the iceberg compared to the other lands.

While Prompto was distracted with his decor, Ignis placed the newly retrieved stacks of data on his desk. "Prompto, would you require the use of a handphone? I can lend you mine to call the prince." He offered, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

"Yeah, appreciate it, Ignis." He said happily as Ignis gave him the phone. 

Ignis messed about under his desk as Prompto call the prince. Judging from the conversation, Noctis was hiding from his tutors again. Sighing, he pulled out a collapsible stool for Prompto to sit.

Still on the phone, Ignis received a thumbs up from the blonde before he paused, making Ignis stayed where he was. "Iggy-nis, Noctis asked if you could take me to the library." He relayed the message to him. " Carefully hiding the slip on his name.

Ignis contemplated briefly about that slip resigned to sigh again. "Very well but I need to finish the report first. It will only take 20 minutes, at most. Would that be alright?"

"Did you hear that?" Prompto asked through the phone. Whatever reply he received made Prompto exasperatedly roll his eyes. "Yes, Prince of Hiding in the Library. We'll be there in 20 minutes plus. May your hiding reign continue." He ended the conversation with a laugh before passing the phone back. "He'll be waiting for us." He informed the advisor as he passed the phone back to its owner.

"Forgive me but I'm not used to having visitors here. The stool is originally for when I need to read a little closer to the book shelves or cleaning my gears." He said apologetically as he got back to his seat.

"No biggy." Prompto said as he settled down on the stool. It was directly faced across Ignis as he went over to type whatever the report. Prompto stared at the man before realizing it might be distracting, he swiveled slightly towards the shelf. The shelf was mostly books on law and legislation. He noticed there was a stray cookbook there but after what he heard from Noctis, it wasn't surprising. After he finished eyeing the shelves, he swiveled towards the map of the world and the lances. Unfortunately, it was about that time he felt his stomach burned with hunger before it grumbled loudly.

"Sorry, it's just that I didn't have breakfast. I thought I'd get some food with Noctis." He apologized quickly, turning red. 

"Apologies, I don't have anything in the room except for Ebony." Ignis said sympathetically. "Would you like some?"

"Ebony, as in the coffee?" He asked curiously. "If you're ok with, then sure!" He chirped as he got something out of his bag.

Ignis opened one of his desk drawers to fetch a couple cans of Ebony. 

Prompto was already fiddling with a pack of Pocky as he passed the can of Ebony.

"Pocky?" He asked as opened his can of coffee.

"Yeah, want one?" He offered. The advisor took one out of being polite.

"Thank you." He said as he placed the stick on the can while looking over the screen.

"Whoa, that's new." Prompto said, impressed as he took a sip from his coffee can, keeping his distance from the table.

"Sorry-" He was about to ask when he noticed that the pocky stick had most of itself in the coffee.

He immediately took it out and ate it before it drips over the desk. That in itself made him surprised. The pocky tasted quite nice. It made him give a thoughtful chew as he finished the rest of the stick.

"Uh....You're ok?" Prompto asked in worry, still munching on one.

"Ah, yes." He replied before he re-focus to the screen. 

As he continued on with the report, he made a mental note to try dipping the Pocky in Ebony again.

The two managed to arrive to the library earlier than expected. Apparently, the report is for Noctis from the most recent council meeting.

"Noctis, could I ask which tutor are you running away from?" Ignis asked in a tone that left him no way for refusal. 

Noctis stiffened at that but relented. "Lucian Literature." He answered with a despairing tone.

The advisor's nod was enough to signal his understanding.

"As long as you can pass the subject, I won't let it slip to His Majesty. Otherwise, you're on your own." Ignis told him, part warning, part advice.

Noctis grinned at that. "Thanks, Specs. Owe ya one." He told him gratefully.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Iggy-nis." Prompto said a bit too loudly, causing the other two to shush him quiet before looking around them as if someone would come around to berate them.

"I think we better go to the courtyard instead." Noctis decided, notifying Ignis, as well. 

Prompto was mouthing sorry at the two of them.

 "Wise decision, Your Highness." Ignis nodded with a pat on Prompto's shoulder comforting him. "Take care, the both of you."

They parted ways then.

On the way to his office, he thought of finding a vending machine and getting himself more of the Pocky treats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry if it was bad. Need to get it out of my mind before I forgot this.


	4. Please...don't. Just, no

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was meant to be short pit stop as Gladio went to the loo and Ignis went to see if there is a sale on his beloved Ebony. Predictably, when you leave two bored men, shenanigans will ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline is during the game and specifically in Chapter 3. The only spoilers here is the mentions of the Duscae area.

"Ah, finally!" Gladio exclaimed gladly, jumping out of the car rather than properly getting out of it properly.

"Tch, show off." Prompto grumbled with eyes squinted in disdain at him.

The other man walked away and never looked back.

"Since we're here, I'm going to check the store. Care to join?" Ignis asked as he turned off the engine.

"Nah, just gonna hang out here." Noctis said groggily as a jaw breaking yawn.

"Same." Prompto chimed in as he leaned back into his seat and took out his phone.

He bid them a nod before going off towards the shop.

Gradually, the Prince woke up after shifting in his place and stretching languidly. Prompto was on King's Knight, harvesting his tree and seeing if he can get more leveling.

Feeling peckish, Noctis rummaged their snack pile in the centre glove box to find a box of Pocky. Shrugging at the choice, he went to open it and took the first stick while staring into the Alstor Slough's wilderness. It's so busy.

He missed the next stick that was meant to be eaten and found itself in his nose.

Sputtering, he sneezed and it went flying pass Prompto.

"Whoa, friendly fire!" Prompto jumped as the stick landed on his side of the leg space. "Dude, the heck?" He asked as he turned in his seat to face Noctis.

The prince was still blowing his nose, eyes watering as he did. "Sorry." He apologized, muffled as his nose was pinched.

Prompto looked at him in awe. "Did you just...shoot a Pocky stick with your nose?" He asked, jaw dropping from amazement.

"Not like I meant to!" He defended himself. The box of the treat laid beside him.

He looked between Noctis and the box. "Think you can do it again?" He asked, eyes bright with curiousity.

Noctis, nose red but recover from his bout with the rogue treat, shook his head. "Nope. I think I still have some chocolate up here." He said as he scrunched his face out of discomfort, hoping it might ease the odd feeling in his nose.

"Let me try!" He asked as he reached for the box of treats.

Noctis immediately took it away from his reach. "No. If this gets stuck, we'll need to get it out." He said crossly. "I'll take a bullet for you but not snot."

He grimaced at him for that. "Come on, it's just Pocky. If anything happens, it's on me and I'll get it out." He tried to convince him, still reaching out for the treat.

"No, remember the cactuars needles? It's a team effort." Noctis said, still unconvinced and even fearful.

"Ok, you'll get my pillow if you just gave me the damn box." Prompto grumbled out as he strained for the box, leaning over the seat rather than going over the centre glove box.

Noctis gave a thoughtful once over. Seeing that, Prompto knew he got his attention. With a huff, he stopped reaching for the treat.

"Unless you want to up the stakes." He suggested tentatively.

"Your pillow and dish duty." Noctis demanded.

Prompto pouted at that. "Unless we're making a Pocky shoot out or something, I'm not taking the dish duty." He said indignantly.

"Hey, where's Iggy?" Gladio asked he came over, not even paying attention to the banter.

"The shop." The other two answered back flippantly.

"Ok, what's the stakes then?" He asked, interested yet cautious.

"Who can shoot the farthest?" Prompto suggested, eyes narrowed.

Noctis looked thoughtful again before breaking out into a very smug smirk. "Oh, it's on."

Prompto mirrored him with a similar smirk. "Think you can beat a gunslinger at a shooting game?" He taunted.

"Tch, who do you think you're talking to?" He replied.

Gladio snorted at their exchange, causing them to stare at him in question.

"Nothing. Just continue. Ignore me." He said with an amused smile.

The two gave each other withering looks but there was a silent agreement that they will be continuing this later. Prompto turned in his seat to face the dashboard again while Noctis re-settled himself.

"Hey, don't stop because of me. It was gettin good." Gladio tried to convince them to start back but the mirth was present in his as he said it.

"Whatever, Gladio." Noctis said as he ignored him and continued to munch the rest of his Pocky.

Prompto was back with King's Knight.

It was a while before Ignis came back looking satisfied with a pack of Ebony and a bag full of curatives and remedies. "Managed to bargain a steal for all of these." He said happily.

They were on the road again.

It got dark soon and they found a haven not too far away.

Dinner was done, Ignis went to do inventory and Gladio was lounging near fire with a book in his hand. Noctis went to Prompto who was busy taking shots of the Astral Shard.

"Hey." He greeted him as he too, join to observe he glowing Astral Shard. Prompto took one last shot before greeting him back.

"So, are we gonna do this or not?" Noctis asked as calmly as possible.

"Is Ignis out yet?" He asked, hushed.

"No but he's in the tent doing bag check." Noctis replied.

Prompto gave him a raised eyebrow. "We better do this quick." He said as he turned towards the fire. "By the way, your pillow's mine." He managed to taunt.

Noctis couldn't taunt back in case they attracted attention.

Making their way down to the side of the Haven, they had their lights out with a few boxes of Pocky in hand. They didn't dare to stray too far away in case they got into trouble or the other two were looking for them.

Noctis went to mark a few distances with stones as Prompto helpfully checked whether the Pocky treats were nice and separated.

"Can we get a test shot first?" Prompto asked as he took one out and held the box out for the Prince to take one.

"Sure, I kinda need one too." Noctis said as he took one. "Though, friendly advice. Use the tip without the choc. No problems with choc up your nose."

"Oh, thanks." He said as switched the tip. The two looked at each other expectantly.

"You go, first." Prompto said.

"I'm not the one who needs a practice shot." Noctis retorted.

"Who needs a practice shot?" Came Ignis's voice, thick with suspicion.

The two immediately dropped their Pocky stick.

"Practicing with guns actually." Noctis said as disgruntled as possible. "Thought of doing the Trigger Happy, too but Prom's not up to it."

Prompto looked at him as if he grew a second head before he recovered. "Wait, what?" He retorted.

Ignis sighed. "All things considered, I'd rather you prefer the blade than guns and machinery. It's quite untrustworthy." He said as he adjusted the bags of curative in his hand. "I'd be more than glad if we could have a sparing session." He offered.

Noctis gave an interested nod. "That'll be good."

"Excellent. I'll meet you two upstair after I take care of the curatives." He said in a satisfied tone before making his way to the Regalia.

The two shared a look of relief before swiftly picking up the Pocky boxes.

On the Haven itself, they saw Gladio hanging around the edge where whatever they were saying could be overheard. He gave a knowing smile as his eyes darted at the boxes of Pocky and the stricken look.

"Smooth." He commented before chuckling and walking away. "Need me to get place set up for a spar?" He asked even as he was putting away the chair.

Noctis grimaced at him as Prompto stored the Pocky boxes into the cooler and moved it away to make space for the spar.

"You are an ass, you know that." The Prince groused.

Thankfully, Ignis never found out about the Pocky challenge, Gladio who knew about it or just being a cheeky bastard, just kept giving knowing smirks but nothing else and Prompto was really teaching him the Trigger Happy thing he does but the Prince non-dominant hand shakes so hard, he couldn't give accurate shots.

The night ended without preamble or trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't copy them. It's injurious. Just don't.


	5. Ummm...No : Verse 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way to pick up Iris from school, Gladio caught wind of Pocky games between her and her friends. Enter the protective brother. Thankfully, it turned out alright in the end.

Gladio was a bit annoyed that Noctis was skipping practice again but the one who will be getting flack will be him and not Gladio. He’s also partly glad that Ignis told him early because now he can pick up Iris from school.

He decided to walk there rather than getting the car over. Both of them could use the exercise.

As he got closer to the gates, the school was almost empty with stragglers hanging around on the sidewalk, waiting for their rides or whoever fetching them. Searching through the crowd, he saw his sister with her friends, all chatting excitedly.

“-like we need guys. How come no guys came close to us?” One of them whined childishly, slumping as she did.

“As if you don’t know. Between the Shield’s, a Lord’s and one of the biggest financiers’ daughters in all of Lucis, we’re walking landmines.” Said one of the other girl’s soberly, earning a sharp smack to her forearm from the whiny girl earlier.

“Whatever, Lady Dicere.” She snarled, squinting at her as she did.

“Yeah, Lady Dicere.” Iris hooted. Amusement obvious in her tone as she did.

The only girl facing Gladio’s way was the whiny one. Her eyes widened just for a second as she saw Gladio and looked away, acting as if she didn’t see him. Seeing that, Gladio slowed his pace and tried to make himself look less intimidating with a benign smile in place. He was sporting the all-black Crownsguard gym clothes after all.

“You suck, you know that.” Lady Dicere said as she rubbed the offended spot. “You too, Lady Amicitia.”

“What did I do? I’m innocent, Acta.” Iris retorted with an exaggerated nod.

“I wonder who was the one who wanted to try out the Pocky game?” Gigi asked, fluttering her lashes a bit too much at Gladio.

Gladio froze in his tracks as he heard that. His stopped at the notion of her sister getting up to something so scandalous at school. His protective brother side was coming to fore. Maintaining his current approach, he walked into their view before anyone could answer that.

“Gladdy?!” Iris blurted out in shock, jumping as she did. The other stared at her.

“Hey there.” He said in a carefree manner, pulling out all the stops for his ladykiller charms. He might as well milk out as much information as he can. “I heard someone’s going for a Pocky game?” He asked as innocently as possible, giving a small laugh to brush it off as joke.

He had three different reactions from the three girls in front of him. One was eyeballing him for all his worth, one was squinting at him as if she was trying to figure out who he was while the last one looked like she just seen a ghost.

“Cuz, I’m interested.” He offered confidently as Iris’s jaw dropped while Gigi had her eyebrows raised in interest. Acta still looked puzzled and getting more suspicious as she did.

“Iris, is this your new chauffeur?” Gigi said excitedly before anyone could answer her. This caused both Amicitias to flinch.

Putting two and two together, Acta was the first to figure it out with her eyes widening comically. “Lord Amicitia?!” She blurted out in shock.

Gigi jumped back in shock. “Your dad?!”

Gladio’s face fell as Iris snorted loudly, her efforts trying to hold her laughter in failed.

Acta gave her a roll of her eyes and smacked Gigi’s arm.

“No, it’s her brother, you dolt.” Acta corrected her with disdain before regarding Gladio with a respectable acknowledging nod. “Sorry about that. Couldn’t recognize you in normal clothes.” She said as she held herself more formally. She was nervous.

Gladio recovered with shrug. “No probs. Just means my incognito works.”

“Yeah, looking like a royal chauffeur is totally normal.” Iris quipped sarcastically before grabbing Gladio’s arm and pulling him away towards their home. “Come on, before we totally blow our covers.”

Gladio chuckled at her sister’s actions. “See ya around.” He bade the other two girls goodbye before allowing himself to be dragged away by his sister.

Once they were out of sight of her two friends, Iris groaned. “Now they know you exist.” She said tiredly.

Gladio chuckled. “Been hiding me from your friends, huh?” He joked, giving her an amused side glance. “Better get the brooms ready to bat off my suitors again.”

Iris grimaced at him. “Lord Dicere has been talking about getting you as his son-in-law.” Iris told him. “Acta was _not_ happy. She wanted to continue her studies.” She told him seriously. “If Gigi is asking for you later, please don’t. It’s awkward.” She moaned, dragging her feet as she did.

Gladio just chuckled before giving her sister a placating pat on the back. “Just messing with ya. ‘Sides, I’m the future Shield. Dad’s not gonna let me off easy if I went and got hitched.”

Iris looked up to him with a wry smile. “Well, it’s ok if you found someone you like…just…” She struggled with her words.

“Yeah, yeah. Gotta be careful with them. Politics and all.” Gladio agreed knowingly. “But you gotta be careful, too. You’re an Amicitia too.” He told her sternly before rounding on her and stopping as other people passed. “And what’s this about a Pocky game?” He asked, the stern tone was still present.

Iris fiddled with her hand before looking up. “Look, it’s a game. That’s all it is.” She explained earnestly. “I kinda…said too much.” She admitted sheepishly before breaking eye contact to stare at the pavement. Her brother shook his head as he sighed. Iris looked guilty as he did.

“Just be sure to have me along if you got into this kind of mess.” He told her. With all the trouble of keeping up appearances and being a teenager, it’s a precarious situation. Plus, he knew who exactly she is interested in despite the person was already betrothed. At least that's one headache gone. “Since most of them don’t recognize me, it’ll be ok.” He said as he went ahead, giving her sister space to join him by his side. Iris jogged a bit to catch up, looking relieved as she did.

“Thanks, Gladdy.” Iris said gratefully.

“Don’t mention it, moogle.” Gladio said fondly. “Speaking of that, better hide this from Father. He’ll burst a vein or something.” He said grimly.

“Totally.” Iris agreed, equally grim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Batting suitors is hard work and pretty awkward. That's all I'm going to say.
> 
> Happy readings!


	6. Sweet deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Noctis discovered the Pocky treat at Hammerhead. Remembering the first time they shared the treat, Noctis suggested Prompto follow suit with the Goddess of Gears. However, it didn't quite lead to a Pocky game but it was fulfilling snack time nevertheless...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad I managed to finish this on time. I'm aiming a chapter per week. Apologies for Cindy's accent. I tried TwT
> 
> This is partly my take on how the Keycatrich Salad recipe was obtained.

The Prince and his retinue had just returned from the Crestholm Channel that also happened to be a sewerage system. Other than smelling riper than a bunch of rotten daggerquill eggs on a hot, muggy day, they had lived through a very deadly hunt with a very lucrative prize _and_ retrieved one of Cindy’s special favours. A pair of demon repelling headlights.

Cleanup was unpleasant and the Regalia was another casualty of the Channel. It would be another pain to explain to Cindy why does the car leather smell like…well, sewerage in the morning. For now, they concentrated on smelling better themselves.

The next morning, after the Prince finally risen from his slumber, they made their way to the garage.  Thankfully, the lady in question had nothing to say other than needing them to pick the upholstery. Of course, with the new headlights in tow, the grease monkey couldn’t be happier as she set to work.

“Naw, just leave this girl ta me.” Cindy said excitedly, rubbing her hands together as she eyed the Regalia. “She’s in good hands.”

With that they all went to Takka for food, updates and to retrieve their bounty on the hunt.

“Hey, Noct! Wanna see if there’s anything new at the shop?” Prompto chirped with a persistent tug on his elbow.

“Sure.” Noctis replied as he stopped.

“Gladio, Specs!” He called out. “We’re at the shop.”

“Please be frugal, Noct.” Came the Advisor’s tired reply, stopping just for a pointed glance before continuing his march.

Gladio just gave an acknowledging wave, wanting a bite as soon as he can.

That done, the two went into the shop. Prompto had already found something that caught his attention, making a beeline for it. Noctis gave a look around the place, stopping on a pack of chips that caught his attention. It was purple. Taking a pack, he looked over it. Despite the alarming colour, it was edible.

“Hey, Noct.” Prompto came, almost skipping as held out a pack of Pocky. “Look what I found.” He said excitedly.

Noctis gave the pack of Pocky an impressed raise of eyebrows. He said as he replaced the pack of purple chips on the shelf and took the box of Pocky and turning it over.

Noctis had an unreadable look on his face before a tiny smile escaped. “You remember the first time you gave this to me?” He asked as he held it out for Prompto to reach.

“Uh…” Prompto struggled to remember for a moment before a sheepish smile crossed his face that immediately fell with an awkwardly laugh.

The first time Prompto offered a box of that treat was when they were still at school, for a Pocky game, no less. Thinking about the old days, especially after the fall of the kingdom was still a sore subject amongst them.

Catching where Prompto’s mind was heading he slapped a hand over his shoulder. “Well, any plans for the Pocky?” Noctis asked mischievously, hoping to drag him away from dark thoughts. He wiggled his eyebrows exaggeratedly as he did.

“Dude~” He whined in disgust. “Come on, it’s not like that.”

“Really, missing a chance with your ‘ _Goddess of Gears’_?” Noctis pulling away to give a smug look, crossing his arms as he did.

Prompto spluttered as he tried to explain himself and failed.

“Ok, ok. Don’t hurt yourself over it.” Noctis placated him with a comforting pat on the back. “Come on, let get this ‘offering’ to her. I think she could use a treat after all that mods.”

Soon enough, they weren’t that far away as the ‘Goddess of Gears’ who was tinkering with the headlights on a table. Thankfully, Cid was too deep in his nap to notice them.

“Go.” Noctis urged with a harsh whisper as he pushed the blonde. Trying to stay quiet as to not to wake the grumpy elder. “Just go!”

Prompto was still in between going away and going towards Cindy. With all his shuffling, Cindy looked up from her tinkering to the source of the noise.

Noctis immediately phased back out of sight. Prompto could only managed a stunned look before regarding the mechanic.

“Hey there, Cindy!” Prompto immediately hollered, waving one hand and obviously hiding the other hand with treat and the shock of being left alone.

“Hey, there Promp. What’s going on?” She asked, settling her tools.

“Nothing, just thought of checking on ya aaaannd-“ He said as he brought forward the treat into her view. “I got ya some snacks.” He offered happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he got closer.

“Oh my, why thank you, darling.” She said graciously as she stood away from the desk. “Just wait a minute. Gonna get my hands cleaned and we can both eat it!” She told him as hurried to a pipe.

Prompto froze where he stood, overwhelmed with emotions at the sheer luck he was having right now.

Once she came back, Prompto gave her the pack and she tore the packet clean and offered him a seat on a stretched bench next to her. “Come on! Ain’t no fun eating this alone.” She said excitedly as Prompto settled himself gently next to her, giving a nervous giggle as he did.

She took one stick and offered the rest to Prompto to eat one. “I’m so lucky. It’s my cheat day today.” She said gleefully before taking a bite.

That surprised Prompto as he took one. “You go on diets?” He asked as he took a bit of his stick. Cindy looked as if she didn’t even need to try.

“Definitely. Ya think I can keep fit without any help?” She said rhetorically. “As it is, I need ta take a walk or a hike or else I can’t even help maself if I get in trouble.”

“You’re doing a good job.” Prompto commented thoughtfully as he took another one. “So what else are ya on?” He continued, interested on how she goes about with her meal.

“Definitely greens. Thank the Six there’s lots of ‘em round here.” She answered. “Garula steaks once a day or any protein, y’know.” She gave a shrug at that. “But these babies, comes every three days.” She said, gesturing fondly at the Pocky box.

“Awesome. It’s kinda hard for me to keep my diet while on the road. If it wasn’t for Iggy, I’ll be fatter now.” He commented with a slight grimace. “If Iggy wasn’t cooking, it’s all Kenny’s food until we can afford proper food.”

“Oh, I can teach ya something simple you can make on the go.” Cindy offered in sympathy, already on her next Pocky stick. “My special Summer Salad in a Pot.”  She said proudly. “It’s lunch time anyways.”

“Sure!” Prompto said eagerly, brightening up at the same time. It was almost like a date.

Soon enough, they finished the salad and Cindy got back to her tinkering.

Prompto bade her goodbye and returned to the diner to meet up with the other guys, all the while grinning to himself happily.

Gladio was busy with a book, Noctis was slumped over the diner table with remnants of a sandwich across of Gladio while Ignis was chatting with Takka. Settling beside the Prince, Gladio didn’t even look up to address him.

“I guess you went pass stalking her in the shadows?” Gladio asked in amusement, sneaking a glance at the blonde as he turned a page.

“Sure.” He said triumphantly while doing finger guns at Gladio. “And, as Ignis always says, ‘I got a new recipeh-“ He said, with a an exaggerated trail at the end of it.

“I do not sound like that.” Came Ignis’s protest as he came with a tray of katoblepas briskets. “However, I am keen on that recipe if you wish to share it.“ He said as he passed a plate of it to everyone. Noctis sat up in his seat once he felt the plate was in front of him, pulling it closer as Ignis distributed the cutleries next. Gladio, put away his book after marking it.

“Totes, Iggy!” He said excitedly. “It’s really easy. It’s a salad.” He said as he began digging into his meal.

Noctis lets out a disgusted noise. “Not touching that.” He complained.

Ignis merely ignored him and concentrated as Prompto shared the recipe. Later, Ignis’s version will be known to them as Keycatrich Salad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed that!
> 
> As for how the first time the Pocky treat was shared between Noct and Prompto, that's the reference for the first chapter.


	7. Ummm...No Verse 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aranea found Ignis indulging himself with a Pocky dipped in Ebony. Weird but not bad. Certainly, interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh, I forgot how bad flu can get. I finished it a few days back and I'm so glad I didn't post until I had time to tweak it. So much gibberish. Huzzah to getting better!

It was a long day. Aranea had to fend off the out of control Magitek Troopers and fetching the citizens that got stranded in the taller buildings when the entrance or the lower grounds were either on fire or blocked off by debris.

She really wondered if there was any measure for building safety or did the Tenebraens just build as long as it looks pretty.

Taking a break, she decided to hide in the dining cart on the train. There were only a handful of people in it but the most surprising of all is one of the Prince’s retinue was there.

It was the injured one, too. Making her steps as lightly as possible, she settled in a seat not too far away from him. The cook placed an empty cup in front of him and a box of Pocky. “Here ya go.” The cook said, alerting the man of the items he placed. “Thank you very much.” He answered as he slowly traced the table for the cup.

On top of Aranea’s initial surprise for seeing the man there in the first place, she didn’t think that he would be interested in sweet snacks. Though exhausted, she was still too curious to see how the man was doing, waving away the cook politely when he addressed her. The cook gave the two of them an odd smile before bustling away. Aranea wanted to say something about that but Ignis's action caught her eyes.

Ignis began searching for something in his coat pocket, producing a can of Ebony. Cracking it open carefully, he was still unaware that the bar was far from the Ebony can, lowering it in midair. Deciding to save the day, Aranea swooped gently and guided the hand holding the Ebony back to the bar. “I don’t think the table is that way.” She gave an amused quip.

Ignis gave a self-depreciating chuckle. “Thank you for the help, Aranea.” He thanked her with a smile tugging the corner of his lips. Aranea settled into the chair next to him, observing as he felt for the empty cup earlier and poured the Ebony into it.

“So, you came here alone?” Aranea said in an amused tone but a valid question nonetheless.

That caused Ignis to shake his head. “Pick-up lines, Aranea?” He replied, amused. “Anyway, Noct and Gladio went to stock up. I imagine we will be leaving for Gralea soon.” He answered her anyway. Slowly, he felt his way for the Pocky box and attempted to unwrap it.

“Give it here.” Aranea said with an impatient tone as she took the box from his grip and unwrap it for him. Taking one of his hands, she carefully passed it back to him. “I’m taking one as my fee.” She joked, already taking one of the sweet sticks.

“Fair enough.” Ignis answered back as he felt for the Ebony and dunk one of it into it.

Aranea’s eyebrows were raised high, even stopping mid munching in surprised of what he did.

Swirling the stick a bit, Ignis finally took it into his mouth, giving a contented hum as he did.

“You dip it in Ebony?” Aranea asked, her surprise audible in her tone.

“Why yes. Quite pleasant.” Ignis said with a nod towards where he heard Aranea. “If one has a penchant for coffee flavoured treats, this is particularly cheap and easy to come by.”

Aranea stared at him.

“You can try it for yourself.” He offered good-naturedly after a pause. “I don’t double dip the Pocky sticks if you’re worried of it.” He added.

“If you says so, Four eyes.” She answered as she reached for the Pocky stick and dipped it in Ebony. Giving it a bite, she was a bit skeptical on the taste. It was still sweet but the Ebony had given it the distinct coffee aroma. She can see why an Ebony addict like Ignis find it nice. For herself, however, she still prefers the respective treat and coffee by itself. “Not bad.” She commented idly.

Ignis gave her a small smile. “Glad to have someone on the same boat.” He said amicably as he repeated with another Pocky stick. “Prompto….” He began, faltering as Aranea saw the guilt creeped into his features. “… was less than amused when I indulge myself like this.” He said, ending with a lowered voice.

Aranea grimaced at that before she gave him a pat on his back, careful enough not to startle him. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine.” She said as she got to her feet. “Seeing him, I bet he’s tough as nails even if he bitches a lot.” She assured him. “I better get back to work.” She said as she dismissed herself.

“Thank you, Aranea.” The bespectacled man said in quiet gratitude.

“If I see him around, I’ll tell him you said ‘Hi’” She said as she exited the dining cart.

Outside, she saw the Prince and the bodyguard chatting gravely with Biggs and Wedge. Slipping away as best as she could, she went back to the evacuation efforts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed that!


	8. A stroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the eve of the peace treaty and Ardyn was feeling restless. He decided to take a stroll in Insomnia but wounds up being pulled aside by a very worried Monica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did this real quick. Life got really busy but I managed to finished this in time. Hope it's not too horrid.
> 
> Edit 13/5/2018 : Just proofed it a bit.

It was the eve of the Insomnian Treaty and Ardyn was bored. The Niffleheim Empire were already prepared by the ridge about an hour to the said city for almost a week. Hearing the commanders going through the plans over and over again is threatening him to start the operation prematurely or him exploding around the seams with Starscourge and swallowing everything with it.

He needed a reprieve.

Deciding he needed fresh air, he used the best of his abilities to sneak out.

Outside, the sun was out at its highest zenith and he wondered if he could reach the city in time for lunch.

When he reached the city, taking the guise of one of the city guards, he passed the gates without a problem, other than the slight twitch he gets once in a while when the scourge is bombarded by the wall’s energy.

Once he was out sight of the other guards, he took another guise, this time, of an elderly Crown citizen. He took a good look of the city as he got deeper into it.

The people, the noise, the cars. The advertisements, though muffled under all that din, was speaking loud through the colours and flashes. It was a somewhat bittersweet seeing his former country like this. Gralea was similar in a sense but the constant mention of their “Radiance” does get irritating.

‘They shouldn’t be like this.’ Came the errant thought as he drifted into his thought as he followed the crowds to whatever destination they may go. ‘How dare they! They shouldn’t be like this. They should suffer. They should succumb. We should all know what despair is!’ Ardyn growled as he tried to reign in the thoughts. He stumbled for a moment only to have someone steering him off the walkway to the side.

“Are you alright?” Came the voice of a concern young lady.

Ardyn, realizing that the young lady was trying to help him, refrained from giving an amused smile as she helped him to a seat. “Thank you, young lady.” He thanked her as he settled into his seat on the bench and took a deep breath, centering himself from the Scourge’s grip on his mind. It wasn’t bad but he nearly lost his grip on it.

“Sir, are you alright? Do you need a doctor?” The young dark haired lady asked again as he recovered. Concerned as she was, Ardyn couldn’t help but sense the air of authority from her.

“No, there is no need.” Ardyn tried to wave her off. “I simply overexerted myself.”

She still looked unconvinced. Shifting her groceries into a more comfortable grip. “Sir, would you like some sweets or maybe some snacks to recover?” She said as she looked over him.

Ardyn wasn’t sure if the annoyance he felt was from the Scourge or from himself. But then, he did took on the guise of an elderly old man. Might as well, entertain her while he was here. “Not to be imposing but I could use a snack.” He told her, giving her an apologetic smile.

Ever so dutiful, the young lady immediately searched through her groceries and producing a packet of strawberry Pocky. He raised an eyebrow at the snack as he accepted it.

“It’s basically strawberry crème coated biscuit.” She explained to him, seeing his surprised expression.

Looking up, Ardyn patted the empty seat beside him. “Forgive this old man but would you join me?” He asked her gently, giving her the opportunity to dismiss herself if she needed to.

The young lady gave him a nod with a small smile as she relocated herself next to him.

He opened the box to see the silvery wrapping inside. Next to him, the young lady had fussed over a container of clear gel. A hand sanitizer. Once done she offered it to him. Ardyn nearly lets out a chuckle but took the offer and rubbing it until there was no sign of the gel anymore.

“You can never be too careful with germs.” She told him as he finally went to unwrap the foil.

“I see.” He told her with an acknowledging nod. “I can’t agree more when there’s so many people around.” He added, hoping to keep the conversation going. “Oh, forgive me. My name is Vitty.”

“Ah, my name’s Monica.” She introduced herself as Ardyn offered her the treat.

“I suppose you’re heading back home?” Ardyn guessed from the groceries. “Again, forgive me for keeping you.”

“No worries. I left my cats with enough food to last for the day.” Monica told with a comforting smile. “I would feel bad leaving as you were. You look ill.” She continued. “I’m glad you look better now.”

Ardyn chuckled at that. It was somewhat heartwarming to know that Monica cared but being ill wasn’t exactly the word he would have for it. “There will always be bad days and good days.” He said as he chewed on his treat, humming thoughtfully.  

“It’s good, isn’t it?” She asked in reserved interest, her eyes curious to his reaction.

To Ardyn, the treat was cloyingly sweet but he nodded as he schooled his face in what would have passed off as interest. “Quite.” He said as he took another stick and offer the rapidly emptying box to the young lady. “I don’t think I’ve encountered this flavor yet.”

“Ah, I see. You must have been eating the chocolate version of it.” She said knowingly as Ardyn offered another one. “The other flavours are rarer than the chocolate one. I think their marketeers assume that chocolate a much more sell worthy product, I guess.” She surmised.

Ardyn almost felt bad for her. Here he was, waiting for Insomnia to be laid siege and they were still worrying about food. He remembered a few towns just like this before it was wiped out in one war or another. At that statement, he just shrug. “People would be missing out.” He commented as the box finishes. Ardyn made a show of looking over the empty box before folding it neatly.

Monica nodded enthusiastically at that. “No doubt about it.” She replied with a grimace.

“Well, thank you for keeping me company but I have to go now.” Ardyn said as he tried to dismiss himself. “My grandchildren are expecting me.” He said with a shy smile. Inwardly, he was laughing at the lie he just cooked up.

Monica stood up and offered a hand to shake. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.” She said with a benign smile. “Take care.”

Nodding to that he left, following the crowd. Once he was convinced that the young lady couldn’t see him anymore, he changed his guise to that of a teenage girl. This time, he was making his way out of the city.

It was starting to get dark. Not that it’ll be a problem for him but if those Niffleheim upstarts starts to make a fuss about his absence, he’s might just get kicked out of the delegations. He sighed as he made his to the ridge once more. He’s feeling bored again. Giving the armada one last look, he warped to the nearest one. On the bright side, if he gets this right, he can finally end his existence.

Later on that week, as he watched Insomnia burnt to the ground, he was surprised to find the remnant of the Pocky box from that day.  It seems that he forgot the wrapper was there. Only sparing it a glance, he used his magic to turn it into ash. He was too old for this. Looking at the burning skyline, he pushed away the feeling of guilt and continued his trip to his room. Planning his next step.


	9. Ummm...No Verse 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was Nyx's day off. By the time he woke up, it was almost lunch. Going to his usual place for lunch, he saw a whole line of unlabeled boxes. 
> 
> a.k.a.
> 
> When the shop owner's nephew scored big and dump some of his prize winnings with his uncle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this is so crude, I apologize so much for that. It's soooooo buuussssyyyy~ 
> 
> This has to come out now in case I couldn't do anything for this week and the coming week.
> 
> Plus, I haven't written for the Kinglaives gang for too long. It doesn't help it's harder to get Libertus to cook on Comrades.

It was Nyx’s day off.

Sleeping in is a luxury that only an off day can afford. When he finally woke up, it was nearly lunch.

Contemplating whether he needed a shower or not, he finally got out of bed.

At the usual place, he was surprise to see one side of the humble establishment to be lined with boxes, to which the shop owner had opened one, fetching a few smaller boxes as he did.

Hearing Nyx coming closer, shop owner gave him a surprised raise of his eyebrows. “Oh hey there, Nyx.” He greeted, putting the small boxes of…Pocky? on to the nearest table. “Wanna get some grub?”

“Yeah.” Nyx answered back as the owner gave an acknowledging nod and went to his kitchen.

“Semur Skewers?” He asked as he got the burner going.

“Sure.” The Glaive said, distracted by the Pocky box on the table and the boxes. All of them were suspiciously unlabeled for some reason.

“Oh that.” The shop owner commented as he realized the source for Nyx’s attention. “You can have one, hell take a whole box, if ya want.” He said as the stove started to sizzle. “But make sure you buy my food, too.” He added lastly.

Nyx chuckled at that. “Hey, I already ordered.” He highlighted. “Did someone dump this on your or something?”

“Yeah. My nephew won a lifetime supply of it.” He told him. “But the they lived in a small apartment. They gave some of the the Pocky stuff away. I like the Pretz better than the Pocky ones though. The Pocky ones are too sweet.”

Looking down at the assorted flavours on the table, he could imagine the face pulling sweetness. “Whoa, tough.” He said as he took the banana flavoured on. “I’m taking the banana one.”

“Go ahead.” The owner proffered. “By the way, black coffee too?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He answered as he took one of the stick. The owner came around with a plate of skewers and a mug of black coffee.

“Mind if I join ya?” He asked as he already took a seat. Nyx shrugged as he puts downs the Pocky for the coffee.

“What did he do to win this?” He asked in wonderment the boxes. He counted there’s about twenty boxes.

“Been buying the stuff from the shop at the subway. He found a ticket or something.” He explained as he took the normal chocolate flavour one. “Day off?” He asked offhandedly.

“—eaahh.” He said with one of the meats in his mouth. “This was a surprise though.” He commented as he swallowed before biting into another one.

“Yeah, they had to borrow a truck to get it here.” He said with a chuckle, munching on his Pocky stick.

Nyx chuckled along, too. ”Must have been a hassle getting it down here.” Nyx said in understanding.

“Definitely but nothing like a good workout in the morning.” He said with an amused smile.

Nyx laughed hard at that one. “Ok, ok. Let’s leave all the workout aside. It’s my day off.” He said with a mock distress look. They could hear someone coming down as he did.

“Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in.” Came Crowe’s familiar voice and tired greetings from a few more tired Glaives.

They looked worked to the bone. Sonitus was already claiming a seat at the nearest table and slump on it. Tredd and Axis weren’t that far away in terms of condition as Crowe and Libertus came to Nyx’s table.

Libertus gave a low whistle. “Are those…all Pocky boxes?” He asked incredulously as he eyes the bunch of Pocky boxes on the table and the bigger unlabled boxes nearby.

Crowe paid no mind as she took Nyx’s abandoned Pocky box and took a few.

“Yeah.” The shop owner admitted. “Want some?” He asked, gesturing at the rest of the unopened pocky boxes on the table as he rose from his seat. “Be my guest. I’mma go check up on those three over there and make sure they don’t die.”

Libertus gave an amused chuckled as he reached out for the double chocolate pocky box. “But for real though, are those all Pocky boxes?” He asked Nyx, still in disbelief.

“You heard it from the man himself.” Nyx confirmed for him,

Crowe hummed in thought. “He won the Pocky contest, didn’t he?” Crowe concluded with despairing acceptance.

Both Nyx and Libertus stared at her. “Whoa, there’s a contest for these?” Libertus asked, gesturing at the boxes.

“Wait, don’t tell me you joined the contest.” Nyx asked as he squinted at her judgingly.

She plucked one stick from the box and pointed it threatening at him. “Food is food.” She answered him sternly before munching on it.

“Sheesh, no need for threats” He said as he finished the last of his skewers.

“Ah, man. I wish there’s more of the double chocolate ones.” He said forlornly as he went through a few more boxes on the table.

“Talking about that, the owner said we can grab a box.” Nyx said as Crowe went pass him to grab the strawberry flavour one.

Libertus took a look at Nyx and then at the boxes. “Yeah?” He asked, still not trusting him enough to take his word for it.

Nyx raised his eyebrows. “What? Don’t trust me?” He asked as Crowe snorted at him for that. Unimpressed with their lack of faith, he waved for the owner.

“What’s up, Nyx?” He called out.

“We can take a box of these, right?” Nyx asked out loud.

“Yeah. But if you found the Pretz box, leave those alone.” He answered back.

“Okay!” Nyx answered only to look smugly to his fellow Galahdians.

“I’mma just gonna take a look at those boxes.” Libertus declared formally yet hastily, failing to hide his excitement.

“Me, too. You might need help.” She said as she grabbed the nearest one.

“Now, now. This isn’t a security search. Don’t make the old guy panic, okay?” Nyx told the both of them as they removed the tape of their respective boxes.

Inside was an assorted mix of pocky boxes. Since they were only allowed one box for each of them, they emptied their respective boxes and traded off the flavours they didn’t like.

Interested, Sonitus wandered up to them as they unpacked and repacked their boxes. “Say, can I have one, too?” He asked cautiously.

“Buy something from me and I’ll let ya. And not just drinks, alright.” The owner came by, amused with the whole situation.

“Skewers, please.” Sonitus said in a beat.

“Coming right up.” The owner said, still amused. “Go help yourself to a box.”

“Whoa, didn’t peg you for having a sweet tooth.” Nyx exclaimed in surprise.

“Same to you but here we are.” Sonitus said with a grin as he opened his box. “I’m willing to trade all of them for the regular Pocky.” He declared.

Nyx laughed as he took out his regular pocky. “Trade ‘em for the banana ones.” He said as he held it out.

“This is starting to look like a card game.” Libertus noted as he took out more of the cookies and cream to trade with Crowe.

“It’s gonna be hard on people with stubby fingers.” Crowe said as she made wriggly motion with her free hand. “Those boxes are hard to hold on if you have short stubby fingers…or clumsy fingers like Nyx.”

“Hey, I saved your asses with these clumsy fingers more times than you can count, alright.” Nyx said with mock offense.

“Yeah, all the hero stuff needs a _firm_ grip on the weapons, after all.” Libertus with a snort.

It was Sonitus’s turn to snort his laugh. “Sorry.” He apologized but the amused smile didn’t fade.

Nyx just rolled his eyes at that. “I’ll just keep saving your asses. Pray to the astral that I won’t miss a warp point or something and land on you guys instead.”

Crowe suddenly stopped sifting in the pocky boxes and faced Nyx seriously. “On behalf of all the Glaives, I beg for your forgiveness. Please continue to save our asses and be our hero.” She said with a short, solemn bow.

A pause passed before all of them were guffawing.

“Crowe, don’t ever do that ever again!” Nyx managed between his laughs. “Creepy as fuck.” He said as he shuddered at the memory.

“Ok, let’s get off the subject. Anyone wants the green tea flavour?” Libertus changing the subject effectively.

“Oh, I’ll take that.” Sonitus answered. “Wanna trade with what?”

It was dinner time by the time they were satisfied with their hauls. The skewers Sonitus ordered were abandoned and cold but they decided to save and split the bill. Axis and Tredd were long gone by then.

More Glaives joined them as dinner passed and by the time everyone went home, the owner managed to give out half of the boxes. Apparently, there was two boxes full of Pretz as the Glaives and the rare Guards came by and grabbed the boxes.

He gave the remaining boxes a stare before sighing. He just hopes that he can clear this out before it all expires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed that. I seriously need to put aside time for proofing.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit 5/13/2018 : Proofing done.


	10. Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunafreya just returned from her healing duties trip. While being tended, she was given by a box of Pocky by one of the maid's granddaughter. After seeing so much of it and not having the chance to actually indulge it, she was more than curious to try it out. Unfortunately, it was still missing something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I'm not happy with this but after a few rewrites, this is more complete than the others. Happy readings~!

Lunafreya just got back from her healing trip to the smaller towns on the outskirts of Tenebrae. Tired but satisfied of her fulfilled duties, she had retired to the residential palace.

Upon reaching there, her entourage were dismissed. She had hoped that her brother was around but she knew better.

Walking down the hallways as her maid met up to tend to her needs, she looked around towards her brother’s hallway, seeing it dark and untouched. “Ravus is not around, is he?” Lunafreya noted.

“Unfortunately so, m’lady.” Said one of the elderly maids.

Snapped from her thought, she puts up a small smile to the maid. “I should send him a message later.” She said more to herself than anyone else. “How are the Sylleblossoms faring?” She asked next as she headed towards the courtyard.

“We have been attending to them closely, m’lady.” Said the same maid. “But m’lady, I would urge you to rest. You only arrived this morning.”

Lunafreya slowed her steps as she addressed the maid. “My apologies for worrying you, Maria.” She said tenderly. “Seeing those blossoms will grant me reprieve that no rest can give.” She explained, hoping to sooth Maria’s worry and be allowed to proceed to the garden.

Seeing that, Maria gave her a motherly smile. “Very well, m’lady.” She relented. “I will prepare some refreshments for you. It will be delivered to the garden.”

Realizing she was hungry, she was more than happy to hear that. “Thank you very much, Maria.”

Once there, she was glad that the flowers were safe and healthy. She went and observed them closely, looking for signs of diseases that might need swift tending to. She was left alone with a younger blonde maid, one of Maria’s granddaughter.

Unlike Lunafreya, the girl was more enamored with the scenery than the flowers that made it. She almost didn’t notice when Lunafreya came back to her side, satisfied with the condition of the garden.

“The flowers are all nice and healthy.” Lunafreya said, satisfied and happy before sinking to the ground to sit.

Alarmed, the girl fell to her seat rather than sat down, resulting into an audible crunch coming from her dress.

“Oh no, the treats!” She said in alarmed getting back on her feet and quickly dug out a few boxes out of her pockets. One of them was was badly crushed.

“Are you alright?” She asked cautious as the girl sighed heavily at the condition of the crushed box.

Lunafreya had seen the box of treats before but she hasn’t had the chance to indulge herself with the treat.

Looking up, the girl nervously gave her a smile and lowered the boxes. “Nothing. Just some treats.” She said as she settled herself on the ground.

Luna gave her a comforting smile before facing the scenery again. The sight of a magitek dreadnought passing made them both apprehensive. Luckily the refreshments came and Maria joined them.

Later after lunch, she finally retired to her room. Sarah, Maria’s granddaughter had given her one of her Pocky boxes as her pockets were too small for her to keep all of them.

Inside as she took a seat on her day bed, Pryna and Umbra appeared as Gentiana followed. Chuckling as the dogs showered her in attention she looked up to Gentiana.

The quiet messenger gave her a soft smile. “To see the Oracle smile once more, too often has it been for another’s sake.” She said.

“Worry not.” Lunafreya replied soothingly. “Whether it’s for another or not, it is with the best of intentions.”

Gentiana let’s her smile widen a bit more. “Such is, an answer befitting of the Oracles.” She said, a tinge of pride present as Luna busied herself with the Pocky box. The two dogs observed her curiously.

Taking one of the chocolate sticks, she munched on it thoughtfully.

Gentiana observed that. “Curious treat?” She asked.

Lunafreya grimaced slightly as she finished the rest of the stick. “Curious, indeed.” She answered. She had watched children and young adults indulging the treat. Some with joy and others with a fondness, almost too private that it could be mistaken as intimacy. Considering her current company, she wonders as she set her box aside and got up. “I think it is a treat that should be enjoy among many friends.” She concluded with a confused frown, going to her vanity and set the box there.

Eying it before she started to change for the day, she could only say that the treat itself was average compared to the treats she had before. If her conclusion was right….

She stopped herself from thinking of times that could have been. Maybe, one day, she can find Noctis or her brother and share it with them. Or even Noctis’s friends. Maybe then, the treat would finally appeal to her as it did with the people she had seen before.

With that, she allowed herself another smile. There is still time.

She took some time to send her brother a message and another to be sent to Noctis via Umbra. If she is lucky, she would receive their answers before she goes to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The main point was for Lunafreya to try Pocky but this is the kind of treat that'll taste all normal without a company to eat it with. Not proud of how this one turned out but the point is there? 
> 
> To everyone who read this, I am honoured for your time and kudos. I never thought it'll get this much hits and kudos. I'm so happy! 
> 
> Have a good day everyone!


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